Basketball
A basketball fitness program depends mostly on where you are in the season: preseason workload looks nothing like the load between two league games.
Vertical Jump adds centimetres to your jump over 8 weeks of strength and plyometrics, so you can dominate under the rim. In-Season Basketball maintains strength and tendon health mid-season with just two sessions a week so it never crowds out team practice, and Basketball Mid-Season Prep rebuilds fitness during a 4-week break, at three demanding sessions a week.
Pick based on your actual game calendar: preseason builds the base, in-season maintains a season already rolling, and the break rebuilds what it wore down, ahead of the important playoff fixtures still to come later in the year.
Not sure yet?
Try the method first with the Starter Week: three full-body sessions written like our Basketball programs, free, no credit card.
How should you set up basketball strength and conditioning?
Always start from the calendar, never from the exercises. In full season, In-Season Basketball maintains strength and tendon health with two sessions a week, on a repeatable 3-week cycle you can run until the end of the league, without showing up tired at tip-off. During a break of at least 4 weeks, Basketball Mid-Season Prep rebuilds strength and jump at three more demanding sessions a week. Both target an intermediate level: they assume you already know the basic gym movements.
Improving your vertical jump: strength first, plyometrics second
Your jump doesn't improve by jumping more at practice: it is built through maximal leg strength, then converted into bounce through plyometrics. Vertical Jump follows exactly that progression over 8 weeks and two phases, with a jump test at the start and end of the program to measure the centimetres gained. Our vertical jump guide explains the method in detail. Count on both full phases: the first builds the strength, the second converts it into bounce, with the jump tests keeping you honest about the result.
How many sessions a week alongside team practice?
Two sessions in season are the useful maximum: beyond that, the load adds to team practice and games, and your legs pay for it on the court. Off-season or during a break, you can move up to three, because recovery no longer has to fit around weekend games. Consistency beats heroics: two sessions held all championship long are worth more than four weeks at six sessions followed by giving up on the whole idea.
When should you run the Mid-Season Prep?
During a real 4-week break between two phases of the season, not between two games. That is the window where the body can absorb heavier sessions and come out stronger, before the calendar fills up again. Both season programs are built for an equipped gym; Vertical Jump mostly needs a stable box, a barbell or dumbbells and a wall. If your break only lasts two weeks, stick with the in-season program: a shortened four-week block rebuilds nothing.
PDF programs, ready to follow
Each program is a PDF: exercises, sets, rest times, week-by-week progression and alternatives if your gym is missing a piece of equipment. You download it once and it stays yours for good, on your phone right on the gym floor. The other disciplines live in sports physical preparation.